Welfare Ex- Servicemen: Responses to OROP as understood by Capt Praveen Davar

Mr Praveen Davar,
I am afraid you seem to have no knowledge at all of the feelings of neglect and hurt being felt by the Defence Services Veterans as a result of the step motherly treatment received by them consequent to the 6th Pay Commission, the unfulfilled promises made by the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister and the President during her address to the Parliament Regarding OROP.

The status of the Military, their pays and pensions have been continuously down graded/ reduced when ever the Congress Party has been in power. It has reached the lowest as a result of the 6th Pay Commission Report.

The present President of the Congress Party/ Chair person of UPA and the young budding leader have not said a word to assuage the feelings of hurt of the Veterans or listened to them with patience. They are too busy politicking and have no time even to meet the Defence veterans who have paid supreme sacrifices to defend the integrity of the Nation. Repeated requests for a meeting have borne no fruit. Isn't this a sad happening and attitude of disinterest and neglect of the Congress Leadership??

The UPA Government and its top political functionaries do not deserve any thanks from the Veterans. It is a Government run by the bureaucrats who have garnered the maximum pays, promotion prospects and thrown some crumbs to the Defence Services Veterans. The Political leadership has failed to give them appropriate directions. What has been doled out is inadequate and some of its provisions illogical and insufficient.

This has resulted in thousands of Veterans resorting to agitational approach, fasts and returning their service and gallantry medals to the Supreme Commander. THIS HAS HAPPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR COUNTRY, AND ALL DUE TO INTRANSIGENCE OF UPA GOVERNMENT AND ITS POLITICAL LEADERSHIP.

God save our country, where the Defence Veterans have to agitate to try and get their Pensions and the top political leadership does not even meet them!!! The UPA Government and its Chairperson and political leadership need to introspect. Their lack of empathy and interest for the Defence Personnel bodes ill for the security of the Nation.

The Defence Services Veterans are well versed in courtesies and will certainly thank the UPA or any other Government, as and when it is deserved.
Sincerely,
Harbhajan Singh
Lt Gen (Retd) Param Vashisht Seva Medal

Dear Praveen,
I fully understand and appreciate your institutional loyalties. While these certainly are concessions, but none of these is even remotely related to OROP. The report does not touch equating pre 1.1.2006 with post 1.1.2006 pensioners which is the essence of OROP.
While you may be perfectly justified in highlighting these as UPA concessions to the Ex Servicemen, grouping these under the heading of OROP unfortunately amounts to misleading the pensioners.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

Letter from Praveen
I am forwarding below an extract from the recommendation of the committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary in respect of OROP which have been approved recently by the UPA Government.
Extract
On the basis of MoD’s proposal and some initiatives of the Finance Ministry/Cabinet Secretariat the following have been approved by Government:
(i) Inclusion of classification allowance for PBORs from 1.1.06.
(ii) Removal of linkage of full pension with 33 years from 1.1.06
(iii) Revision of Lt. General Pension after carving out a separate pay scale for them.
[These proposals emanate from Sixth CPC’s Report and are to be implemented w.e.f. 1.1.06].
(iv) Bringing parity between pension of pre and post 10.10.97 PBOR pensioners
(v) Further improving PBOR pensions based on award of GoM, 2006.
[These are new concessions aimed at improving the pension of PBORs, hence the benefit would be given prospectively].
(vi) Broadbanding of percentage of disability/ war injury pension for pre-1.1.96 pensioners from a prospective date.
(vii) Removal of cap on war injury element of pension since the existing cap denies full benefit of war injury element. This shall be effected prospectively.

The UPA government deserves our grateful thanks for approving the recommendation on OROP. I shall be grateful if you could kindly give the above wide publicity and email this to all Ex-Servicemen in contact with you.
With regards.
Capt Praveen Davar (Retd)
Secretary, AICC

IESM: Medal Deposit 13 Sep 2009

Dear Friends,
1. Protest against injustice in a dignified, disciplined and lawful manner is our right. The Govt continues to deny us our legitimate demands, OROP being the Primary Demand.
2. Deposit of our hard earned medals with the President is the most dignified method of protest. So far, our deposits have been in thousands. From now onwards,let us deposit medals in lakhs. This will be the most effective method of protest to make the Govt see reasons to our demands.
3. Tomorrow, the 13 Sep 2009, join hands and volunteer to deposit medals at Jantar–Mantar, New Delhi from 9 AM to 2 PM. The IESM delegation will proceed to Rashtrapati Bhawan at 3 PM to deposit the medals with the President. Let all ESM show solidarity for our cause of “Getting Justice”.
4. An advertisement given in Hindi Newspaper (Dainik Jagaran) dated 12 Sep 2009 is as above. Please make copies and send to all the ESM. All state, district, city tehsil convenors and all ESM organisations are requested to translate it into local languages and pass on to maximum ESM.
With Kind Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement

Dreading the Dragon by Shekhar Gupta

Dear Sir,
"Dreading the Dragon" by Shekhar Gupta of September 12, click me makes for interesting reading. It is worth noting that the areas where the recently reported transgressions have occured in the Ladakh region, are well within the Johnson-Ardagh Line, which is the basis of India's claims. W.H. Johnson, a Survey of India officer did his border alignment in 1865. Later, in 1897, Maj Gen Sir John Ardagh, as Director Military Intelligence, reinforced Johnson's perceptions, and, in fact, added to them. The 1947 maps India inherited from Britain show the Northern boundary in accordance with the Johnson-Ardagh Line, so India's assertions of alleged intrusion by China have due legitimacy.
The larger issue, however, goes beyond border transgressions. India unapologetically needs to dump the Nehruvian legacy (brusquely ordering a deeply concerned Army Chief, General Cariappa, when he went to advise him in 1951 on building appropriate defences against China, "you mind only Kashmir and Pakistan!").What we now need (and Shekhar Gupta has pointed that out clearly) is a pragmatic and energetic Foreign Policy based on realpolitik, not diplomatic obliqueness; a policy that takes into account the defences forces perceptions of threat assessment and their suggested road map for our Northern and Eastern borders and need for fast track development without undue anxiety or panic. Being polite, obtuse and accommodating on issues of national security should no longer be considered the preferred option. Instead, we should resort to putting our national interest above all other considerations.
Maj Gen Raj Mehta (Retd)